Cards, Rangers match strangers

Series foes have met in just 3 games since 2004

Ben Walker Associated Press

Published 12:35 am, Tuesday, October 18, 2011

It's a World Series straight out of Central casting.

David Freese, the local boy who became a big hit for the St. Louis Cardinals. Big Tex himself, Nolan Ryan rooting on the Rangers. A pair of teams cut from a center slice of the country, set to meet in the middle.

Makes for a different feel this October, doesn't it?

No coasting in this Series. None of the Derek Jeters, Dustin Pedroias or Chase Utleys from the East we've grown accustomed to seeing. None of the Tim Lincecums or Brian Wilsons we watched from the West last fall.

Oh, and no need to change any clocks. Every game is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. local time (8:05 Eastern). Kind of nice to avoid hose late-afternoon shadows in California and skip those post-midnight final outs in Northeast. Provided there's no rain or extra innings, that is.

With MVPs Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and several other All-Stars involved, it's certainly an interesting matchup. Adding to the intrigue: The teams are hardly acquainted, having played only three games against each other -- and that lone series was back in 2004.

Now that we have our World Series participants, let's continue our annual tradition of identifying the Fall Classic's 10 most intriguing people:

1. Albert Pujols: Baseball's best player of the last 11 years, he'll become a free agent five days after the conclusion of the World Series. He has as strong a bond with St. Louis as does, say, Derek Jeter with the Bronx. Can he and the Cardinals avoid Jeter-Yankee-esque acrimony in upcoming negotiations? A great postseason so far gives Pujols additional leverage.

2. Tony La Russa: It was the March 12, 1990, cover of Sports Illustrated that identified La Russa, then managing Oakland, as "The Mastermind." After watching the Cardinals' recent rise, can anyone dispute that La Russa is one of the best all-time at what he does?

3. Nelson Cruz: The ALCS MVP began his professional career with the Mets, who traded him to Oakland for Jorge Velandia on Aug. 30, 2000. Don't feel too bad, Mets fans. The A's dumped him to Milwaukee in 2004, and the Brewers traded him to the Rangers in 2006.

4. C.J. Wilson: The impending free agent has cost himself with three lousy postseason starts. He certainly can help his marketability with a strong Game 1 Wednesday.

5. Nolan Ryan: The TV folks have grown to love him in his regal role, treating him like the Tom Coughlin of baseball when it comes to strong facial reactions.

6. Lance Berkman: Remember how disappointed you were when the Yankees declined his option for 2011? Wait, you weren't disappointed? Of course you weren't. He looked done in pinstripes. Who knew he would rebound, at age 35, with one of the best seasons of his career?

7. Ron Washington: He makes his presence felt with eyebrow-raising moves such as his one-out, bases-empty intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera in ALCS Game 4. He isn't a by-the-book guy, and that goes for his player relations, too. Washington seems to naturally bond with his guys.

8. Mike Napoli: His manager with the Angels, former catcher Mike Scioscia, never seemed to appreciate him. And when the Angels dealt him to Toronto last winter, Texas quickly traded for him and brought Napoli right back into the AL West, giving the Scioscia-Napoli relationship a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker vibe.

9. Jon Daniels: When Rangers fans cheer him at functions, Daniels has been known to respond, "Hey, I'm still the guy who traded Adrian Gonzalez." Granted freedom by former owner Tom Hicks, he has completely remade this franchise into one of the industry's elite teams.

10. Al Roker: The weather continues to dominate baseball, postponing one game (ALCS Game 2) suspending another (Yankees-Tigers ALDS Game 1) and delaying a third (ALCS Game 4). The good news? There's no rain on the horizon in either city. The bad news? It'll be near-freezing cold in St. Louis this week.

-- Ken Davidoff, Newsday

According to STATS LLC, the Rangers-Cardinals matchup equals the fewest games between two opponents in the majors, tying Mets-White Sox.

Freese was eager to get going. A prep star in suburban St. Louis, he emerged as the MVP of the NL championship series, helped by his three-run homer in the clinching Game 6 at Milwaukee.

"Thanks for the love yall," Freese tweeted Monday. "For the first time gettin smoked in fantasy football doesnt feel too bad."

Whether sports fans in other spots will watch this Series remains to be seen. Last year's pairing of the Giants and Rangers drew television ratings that equaled the lowest ever. The numbers were down 28 percent from the year before when the Yankees played the Phillies.

The Cardinals still have a national profile, dating to a half-century ago when St. Louis was the most western point in the major leagues. In those days, the vast Cardinals radio network developed a broad fan base all over the country.

"The Rangers are scary. They're a scary team," Freese said. "You look at that lineup, you look at that staff. It's going to be a battle."

"I think we're a team that can match up with them a little bit. And they're confident, we're confident. It's been a tough road. I've definitely been watching the ALCS for sure. That's some good ball over there," he said.

Manager Tony La Russa and the wild-card Cardinals make for a good story. Trailing by 101/2 games in late August, St. Louis made a late run and earned its playoff spot on the final day of the regular season.

The Rangers, guided by excitable manager Ron Washington, were in control for most of the season. Both teams can score, and both wound up relying heavily on their bullpens in the playoffs.

They also share this similarity: Neither had a payroll in the majors' top third on opening day. The Cardinals were 11th at $105 million, Texas was 13th at $92 million.

Not exactly a matchup that anyone predicted. "This is a year where if you know anything about baseball," TBS analyst John Smoltz said, "throw it out the window."